఩ Format Kindle @Brisingr: Book Three ಌ Kindle By Christopher Paolini ಗ The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini of which Brisingr is the latest shows every sign of becoming one of the most exuberant and entertaining fiction sequences in modern writing, with a scope and ambition that genuinely takes the breath away This is a fantasy world which is cleverly designed to appeal to the widest possible range of readership the inevitable echoes of JRR Tolkien are transformed into something rich and strange here, and the events of the earlier books are being drawn together in the later developments with masterly assurance.After the massive, punishing battle against the Warriors of the Empire, Eragon and Saphira are licking their wounds, having barely survived The Rider and his dragon have an oath to fulfil they must aid Katrina in escaping the most terrible danger What follows is an epic journey, quite as action packed and vividly described as anything in fantasy fiction As in all the best such literature, the odds are overwhelming, nothing can be taken at face value, and the evil forces ranged against the protagonists are as vile as one could wish.Christopher Paolini clearly now feels that he has readers securely in his pocket, and is prepared to take his time to achieve some of his best effects a tactic that pays dividends So often with fantasy fiction, outlandish situations are relied upon to carry the action, and there is no shortage of them here But Paolini is canny enough to realise that the characterisation of an endangered protagonist is crucial to maintain our involvement, and as in previous books , he always takes care of business in this regard Don t be put off by the daunting length of this book Paolini justifies every word in Brisingr You ll find yourself reading it as quickly as many a shorter book Barry ForshawASSAULT ON HELGRIND Daybreak was fteen minutes away when Eragon rolled up right He snapped his ngers twice to wake Roran and then scooped up his blankets and knotted them into a tight bundle Pushing himself off the ground, Roran did likewise with his own bedding They looked at each other and shivered with excitement If I die, said Roran, you will see to Katrina I shall Tell her then that I went into battle with joy in my heart and hername upon my lips I shall Eragon muttered a quick line in the ancient language The drop in his strength that followed was almost imperceptible There That will lter the air in front of us and protect us from the paralyz ing effects of the Razacs breath From his bags, Eragon removed his shirt of mail and unwrapped the length of sackcloth he had stored it in Blood from the ght on the Burning Plains still encrusted the once shining corselet, and the combination of dried gore, sweat, and neglect had allowed blotches of rust to creep across the rings The mail was, however, free of tears, as Eragon had repaired them before they had departed for the Empire Eragon donned the leather backed shirt, wrinkling his nose at the stench of death and desperation that clung to it, then attached chased bracers to his forearms and greaves to his shins Upon his head he placed a padded arming cap, a mail coif, and a plain steel helm He had lost his own helmthe one he had worn in Farthen Dr and that the dwarves had engraved with the crest of Drgrimst Ingeitumalong with his shield during the aerial duel between Saphira and Thorn On his hands went mailed gauntlets Roran outtted himself in a similar manner, although he augmented his armor with a wooden shield A band of soft iron wrapped around the lip of the shield, the better to catch and hold an enemys sword No shield encumbered Eragons left arm the hawthorn staff required two hands to wield properly Across his back, Eragon slung the quiver given to him by Queen Islanzad In addition to twenty heavy oak arrows etched with gray goose feathers, the quiver contained the bow with silver ttings that the queen had sung out of a yew tree for him The bow was already strung and ready for use Saphira kneaded the soil beneath her feet Let us be off Leaving their bags and supplies hanging from the branch of a juniper tree, Eragon and Roran clambered onto Saphiras back They wasted no time saddling her she had worn her tack through thenight The molded leather was warm, almost hot, underneath Eragon He clutched the neck spike in front of himto steady himself during sudden changes in directionwhile Roran hooked one thick arm around Eragons waist and brandished his hammer with the other A piece of shale cracked under Saphiras weight as she settled into a low crouch and, in a single giddy bound, leaped up to the rim of the gulch, where she balanced for a moment before unfolding her massive wings The thin membranes thrummed as Saphira raised them toward the sky Vertical, they looked like two translucent blue sails Not so tight, grunted Eragon Sorry, said Roran He loosened his embrace Further speech became impossible as Saphira jumped again When she reached the pinnacle, she brought her wings down with a mighty whoosh,driving the three of them even higher With each subsequent ap, they climbed closer to the at, narrow clouds As Saphira angled toward Helgrind, Eragon glanced to his left and discovered that he could see a broad swath of Leona Lake some miles distant A thick layer of mist, gray and ghostly in the predawn glow, emanated from the water, as if witchre burned upon the sur face of the liquid Eragon tried, but even with his hawklike vision, he could not make out the far shore, nor the southern reaches of the Spine beyond, which he regretted It had been too long since he had laid eyes upon the mountain range of his childhood To the north stood Dras Leona, a huge, rambling mass that ap peared as a blocky silhouette against the wall of mist that edged its western ank The one building Eragon could identify was the cathedral where the Razac had attacked him its anged spire loomed above the rest of the city, like a barbed spearhead And somewhere in the landscape that rushed past below, Eragon knew, were the remnants of the campsite where the Razac had mortally wounded Brom He allowed all of his anger and grief over the events of that dayas well as Garrows murder and the destruction of their farmto surge forth and give him the courage, nay, the desire,to face the Razac in combat Eragon,said Saphira Today we need not guard our minds and keepour thoughts secret from one another, do we Not unless another magician should appear. A fan of golden light ared into existence as the top of the sun crested the horizon In an instant, the full spectrum of colors en livened the previously drab world the mist glowed white, the water became a rich blue, the daubed mud wall that encircled the center of Dras Leona revealed its dingy yellow sides, the trees cloaked themselves in every shade of green, and the soil blushed red and or ange Helgrind, however, remained as it always wasblack The mountain of stone rapidly grew larger as they approached Even from the air, it was intimidating Diving toward the base of Helgrind, Saphira tilted so far to herleft, Eragon and Roran would have fallen if they had not already strapped their legs to the saddle Then she whipped around the apron of scree and over the altar where the priests of Helgrind observed their ceremonies The lip of Eragons helm caught the wind from her passage and produced a howl that almost deafened him Well shouted Roran He could not see in front of them The slaves are gone A great weight seemed to press Eragon into his seat as Saphira pulled out of her dive and spiraled up around Helgrind, searching for an entrance to the Razacs hideout Not even a hole big enough for a woodrat,she declared She slowed and hung in place before a ridge that connected the third lowest of the four peaks to the prominence above The jagged buttress magni ed the boom produced by each stroke of her wings until it was as loud as a thunderclap Eragons eyes watered as the air pulsed against his skin A web of white veins adorned the backside of the crags and pillars, where hoarfrost had collected in the cracks that furrowed the rock Nothing else disturbed the gloom of Helgrinds inky, windswept ramparts No trees grew among the slanting stones, nor shrubs, grass, or lichen, nor did eagles dare nest upon the towers broken ledges True to its name, Helgrind was a place of death, and stood cloaked in the razor sharp, sawtooth folds of its scarps and clefts like a bony specter risen to haunt the earth Casting his mind outward, Eragon conrmed the presence of the two people whom he had discovered imprisoned within Helgrind the previous day, but he felt nothing of the slaves, and to his concern, he still could not locate the Razac or the Lethrblaka If they arent here, then where he wondered Searching again, he noticed something that had eluded him before a single ower, a gentian, blooming not fty feet in front of them, where, by all rights, there ought to be solid rock How does it get enough light to live Saphira answered his question by perching on a crumbling spur several feet to the right As she did, she lost her balance for a moment and ared her wings to steady herself Instead of brushing against the bulk of Helgrind, the tip of her right wing dipped into the rock and then back out again Saphira, did you see that I did. Leaning forward, Saphira pushed the tip of her snout toward the sheer rock, paused an inch or two awayas if waiting for a trap to springthen continued her advance Scale by scale, Saphiras head slid into Helgrind, until all that was visible of her to Eragon was a neck, torso, and wings Its an illusion exclaimed Saphira With a surge of her mighty thews, she abandoned the spur and ung the rest of her body after her head It required every bit of Eragons self control not to cover his face in a desperate bid to pro tect himself as the crag rushed toward him An instant later, he found himself looking at a broad, vaulted cave suffused with the warm glow of morning Saphiras scales refracted the light, casting thousands of shifting blue ecks across the rock Twisting around, Eragon saw no wall behind them, only the mouth of the cave and a sweeping view of the landscape beyond Eragon grimaced It had never occurred to him that Galbatorix might have hidden the Razacs lair with magic Idiot I have to do better,he thought Underestimating the king was a sure way to get them all killed Roran swore and said, Warn me before you do something likethat again Hunching forward, Eragon began to unbuckle his legs from thesaddle as he studied their surroundings, alert for danger The opening to the cave was an irregular oval, perhaps fty feet high and sixty feet wide From there the chamber expanded to twice that size before ending a good bowshot away in a pile of thick stone slabs that leaned against each other in a confusion of uncertain angles A mat of scratches defaced the oor, evidence of the many times the Lethrblaka had taken off from, landed on, and walked about its surface Like mysterious keyholes, ve low tunnels pierced the sides of the cave, as did a lancet passageway large enough to accommodate Saphira Eragon examined the tunnels carefully, but they were pitch black and appeared vacant, a fact he conrmed with quick thrusts of his mind Strange, disjointed murmurs echoed from within Helgrinds innards, suggesting unknown thingsscurrying about in the dark, and endlessly dripping water Adding to the chorus of whispers was the steady rise and fall of Saphiras breathing, which was over loud in the connes of the bare chamber The most distinctive feature of the cavern, however, was the mixture of odors that pervaded it The smell of cold stone domi nated, but underneath Eragon discerned whiffs of damp and mold and something far worse the sickly sweet fetor of rotting meat Undoing the last few straps, Eragon swung his right leg over Saphiras spine, so he was sitting sidesaddle, and prepared to jump off her back Roran did the same on the opposite side Before he released his hold, Eragon heard, amid the many rustlings that teased his ear, a score of simultaneous clicks, as if someone had struck the rock with a collection of hammers The sound repeated itself a half second later He looked in the direction of the noise, as did Saphira A huge, twisted shape hurtled out of the lancet passageway Eyes black, bulging, rimless A beak seven feet long Batlike wings The torso naked, hairless, rippling with muscle Claws like iron spikes Saphira lurched as she tried to evade the Lethrblaka, but to no avail The creature crashed into her right side with what felt to Eragon like the strength and fury of an avalanche What exactly happened next, he knew not, for the impact sent him tumbling through space without so much as a half formed thought in his jumbled brain His blind ight ended as abruptly as it began when something hard and at rammed against the back of him, and he dropped to the oor, banging his head a second time That last collision drove the remaining air clean out of Eragonslungs Stunned, he lay curled on his side, gasping and struggling toregain a semblance of control over his unresponsive limbs Eragon cried Saphira The concern in her voice fueled Eragons efforts as nothing else could As life returned to his arms and legs, he reached out and grasped his staff from where it had fallen beside him He planted the spike mounted on the staffs lower end into a nearby crack and pulled himself up the hawthorn rod and onto his feet He swayed A swarm of crimson sparks danced before him The situation was so confusing, he hardly knew where to look rst Saphira and the Lethrblaka rolled across the cave, kicking and clawing and snapping at each other with enough force to gouge the rock beneath them The clamor of their ght must have been unimaginably loud, but to Eragon they grappled in silence his ears did not work Still, he felt the vibrations through the soles of his feet as the colossal beasts thrashed from side to side, threatening to crush anyone who came near them A torrent of blue re erupted from between Saphiras jaws and bathed the left side of the Lethrblakas head in a ravening inferno hot enough to melt steel The ames curved around the Lethrblaka without harming it Undeterred, the monster pecked at Saphiras neck, forcing her to stop and defend herself Fast as an arrow loosed from a bow, the second Lethrblaka darted out of the lancet passageway, pounced upon Saphiras ank, and, opening its narrow beak, uttered a horrible, withering shriek that made Eragons scalp prickle and a cold lump of dread form in his gut He snarled in discomfort thathe could hear The smell now, with both Lethrblaka present, resembled the sort of overpowering stench one would get from tossing a half dozen pounds of rancid meat into a barrel of sewage and allowing the mix ture to ferment for a week in summer Eragon clamped his mouth shut as his gorge rose and turned his attention elsewhere to keep from retching A few paces away, Roran lay crumpled against the side of the cave, where he too had landed Even as Eragon watched, his cousin lifted an arm and pushed himself onto all fours and then to his feet His eyes were glazed, and he tottered as if drunk Behind Roran, the two Razac emerged from a nearby tunnel They wielded long, pale blades of an ancient design in their mal formed hands Unlike their parents, the Razac were roughly the same size and shape as humans An ebony exoskeleton encased them from top to bottom, although little of it showed, for even in Helgrind, the Razac wore dark robes and cloaks They advanced with startling swiftness, their movements sharp and jerky like those of an insect And yet, Eragon still could not sense them or the Lethrblaka Are they an illusion too he wondered But no, that was nonsense the esh Saphira tore at with her talons was real enough Another explanation occurred to him perhaps it was impossibleto detect their presence Perhaps the Razac could conceal themselves from the minds of humans, their prey, just as spiders conceal themselves from ies If so, then Eragon nally understood why the Razac had been so successful hunting magicians and Riders for Galbatorix when they themselves could not use magic Blast Eragon would have indulged in colorful oaths, but it was time for action, not cursing their bad luck Brom had claimed the Razac were no match for him in broad daylight, and while that might have been truegiven that Brom had had decades to invent spells to use against the RazacEragon knew that, without the ad vantage of surprise, he, Saphira, and Roran would be hard pressed to escape with their lives, much less rescue Katrina Raising his right hand above his head, Eragon cried, Brisingr and threw a roaring reball toward the Razac They dodged, and the reball splashed against the rock oor, guttered for a moment, and then winked out of existence The spell was silly and childish and could cause no conceivable damage if Galbatorix had protected the Razac like the Lethrblaka Still, Eragon found the attack immensely satisfying It also distracted the Razac long enough for Eragon to dash over to Roran and press his back against his cousins Hold them off for a minute, he shouted, hoping Roran would hear Whether he did or not, Roran grasped Eragons meaning, for he covered himself with his shield and lifted his hammer in prepa ration to ght The amount of force contained within each of the Lethrblakas terrible blows had already depleted the wards against physical danger that Eragon had placed around Saphira Without them, the Lethrblaka had inicted several rows of scratcheslong but shallowalong her thighs and had managed to stab her three times with their beaks those wounds were short but deep and caused her a great deal of pain In return, Saphira had laid open the ribs of one Lethrblaka and had bitten off the last three feet of the others tail The Lethrblakas blood, to Eragons astonishment, was a metallic blue green, not unlike the verdigris that forms on aged copper At the moment, the Lethrblaka had withdrawn from Saphira and were circling her, lunging now and then in order to keep her at bay while they waited for her to tire or until they could kill her with a stab from one of their beaks Saphira was better suited than the Lethrblaka to open combat by virtue of her scaleswhich were harder and tougher than the Lethrblakas gray hideand her teethwhich were far lethal in close quarters than the Lethrblakas beaksbut despite all that, she had difculty fending off both creatures at once, especially since the ceiling prevented her from leaping and ying about and other wise outmaneuvering her foes Eragon feared that even if she prevailed, the Lethrblaka would maim her before she slew them Taking a quick breath, Eragon cast a single spell that contained every one of the twelve techniques of killing that Oromis had taught him He was careful to phrase the incantation as a series of processes, so that if Galbatorixs wards foiled him, he could sever the ow of magic Otherwise, the spell might consume his strength until he died It was well he took the precaution Upon release of the spell, Eragon quickly became aware that the magic was having no effect upon the Lethrblaka, and he abandoned the assault He had not expected to succeed with the traditional death words, but he had to try, on the slight chance Galbatorix might have been careless or ignorant when he had placed wards upon the Lethrblaka and their spawn Behind him, Roran shouted, Yah An instant later, a sword thudded against his shield, followed by the tinkle of rippling mail and the bell like peal of a second sword bouncing off Rorans helm Eragon realized that his hearing must be improving The Razac struck again and again, but each time their weapons glanced off Rorans armor or missed his face and limbs by a hairs breadth, no matter how fast they swung their blades Roran was too slow to retaliate, but neither could the Razac harm him They hissed with frustration and spewed a continuous stream of invec tives, which seemed all the foul because of how the creatures hard, clacking jaws mangled the language Eragon smiled The cocoon of charms he had spun around Roran had done its job He hoped the invisible net of energy would hold until he could nd a way to halt the Lethrblaka Everything shivered and went gray around Eragon as the two Lethrblaka shrieked in unison For a moment, his resolve deserted him, leaving him unable to move, then he rallied and shook himself as a dog might, casting off their fell inuence The sound reminded him of nothing so much as a pair of children screaming in pain Then Eragon began to chant as fast as he could without mispronouncing the ancient language Each sentence he uttered, and they were legion, contained the potential to deliver instant death, and each death was unique among its fellows As he recited his improvised soliloquy, Saphira received another cut upon her left ank In return, she broke the wing of her assailant, slashing the thin ight membrane into ribbons with her claws A number of heavy impacts transmitted themselves from Rorans back to Eragons as the Razac hacked and stabbed in a lightning quick frenzy The largest of the two Razac began to edge around Roran, in order to attack Eragon directly And then, amid the din of steel against steel, and steel against wood, and claws against stone, there came the scrape of a sword sliding through mail, followed by a wet crunch Roran yelled, and Eragon felt blood splash across the calf of his right leg Out of the corner of one eye, Eragon watched as a humpbacked gure leaped toward him, extending its leaf bladed sword so as to impale him The world seemed to contract around the thin, narrow point the tip glittered like a shard of crystal, each scratch a thread of quicksilver in the bright light of dawn He only had time for one spell before he would have to devote himself to stopping the Razac from inserting the sword between his liver and kidneys In desperation, he gave up trying to directly harm the Lethrblaka and instead cried, Garjzla, letta It was a crude spell, constructed in haste and poorly worded, yet it worked The bulbous eyes of the Lethrblaka with the broken wing became a matched set of mirrors, each a perfect hemisphere, as Eragons magic reected the light that otherwise would have en tered the Lethrblakas pupils Blind, the creature stumbled and ailed at the air in a vain attempt to hit Saphira Eragon spun the hawthorn staff in his hands and knocked aside the Razacs sword when it was less than an inch from his ribs The Razac landed in front of him and jutted out its neck Eragon recoiled as a short, thick beak appeared from within the depths of its hood The chitinous appendage snapped shut just short of his right eye In a rather detached way, Eragon noticed that the Razacs tongue was barbed and purple and writhed like a headless snake Bringing his hands together at the center of the staff, Eragon drove his arms forward, striking the Razac across its hollow chest and throwing the monster back several yards It fell upon its hands and knees Eragon pivoted around Roran, whose left side was slick with blood, and parried the sword of the other Razac He feinted, beat the Razacs blade, and, when the Razac stabbed at his throat, whirled the other half of the staff across his body and deected the thrust Without pausing, Eragon lunged forward and planted the wooden end of the staff in the Razacs abdomen If Eragon had been wielding Zarroc, he would have killed the Razac then and there As it was, something cracked inside the Razac, and the creature went rolling across the cave for a dozen or paces It immediately popped up again, leaving a smear of blue gore on the uneven rock I need a sword,thought Eragon He widened his stance as the two Razac converged upon him he had no choice but to hold his ground and face their combined on slaught, for he was all that stood between those hook clawed carrion crows and Roran He began to mouth the same spell that had proved itself against the Lethrblaka, but the Razac executed high and low slashes before he could utter a syllable The swords rebounded off the hawthorn with a dull bonk They did not dent or otherwise mar the enchanted wood Left, right, up, down Eragon did not think he acted and reacted as he exchanged a urry of blows with the Razac The staff was ideal for ghting multiple opponents, as he could strike and block with both ends, and often simultaneously That ability served him well now He panted, each breath short and quick Sweat dripped from his brow and gathered at the corners of his eyes, and a layer greased his back and the undersides of his arms The red haze of battle dimmed his vision and throbbed in response to the convulsions of his heart He never felt so alive, or afraid, as he did when ghting Eragons own wards were scant Since he had lavished the bulk of his attention on Saphira and Roran, Eragons magical defenses soon failed, and the smaller Razac wounded him on the outside of his left knee The injury was not life threatening, but it was still serious, for his left leg would no longer support his full weight Gripping the spike at the bottom, Eragon swung the staff like a club and bashed one Razac upside the head The Razac collapsed, but whether it was dead or only unconscious, Eragon could not tell Advancing upon the remaining Razac, he battered the creatures arms and shoulders and, with a sudden twist, knocked the sword out of its hand Before Eragon could nish off the Razac, the blinded, broken winged Lethrblaka ew the width of the cave and slammed against the far wall, knocking loose a shower of stone akes from the ceiling The sight and sound were so colossal, they caused Eragon, Roran, and the Razac to inch and turn, simply out of instinct Jumping after the crippled Lethrblaka, which she had just kicked, Saphira sank her teeth into the back of the creatures sinewy neck The Lethrblaka thrashed in one nal effort to free itself, and then Saphira whipped her head from side to side and broke its spine Rising from her bloody kill, Saphira lled the cave with a savage roar of victory The remaining Lethrblaka did not hesitate Tackling Saphira, it dug its claws underneath the edges of her scales and pulled her into an uncontrolled tumble Together they rolled to the lip of the cave, teetered for a half second, and then dropped out of sight, battling the whole way It was a clever tactic, for it carried the Lethrblaka out of the range of Eragons senses, and that which he could not sense, he had difculty casting a spell against Saphira cried Eragon Tend to yourself This one wont escape me. With a start, Eragon whirled around just in time to see the two Razac vanish into the depths of the nearest tunnel, the smaller supporting the larger Closing his eyes, Eragon located the minds of the prisoners in Helgrind, muttered a burst of the ancient language, then said to Roran, I sealed off Katrinas cell so the Razac cant use her as a hostage Only you and I can open the door now Good, said Roran through clenched teeth Can you do something about this He jerked his chin toward the spot he had clamped his right hand over Blood welled between his ngers Eragon probed the wound As soon as he touched it, Roran inched and recoiled Youre lucky, said Eragon The sword hit a rib Placing one hand on the injury and the other on the twelve diamonds concealed inside the belt of Beloth the Wise strapped around his waist, Eragon drew upon the power he had stored within the gems Wase heill A ripple traversed Rorans side as the magic knit his skin and muscle back together again Then Eragon healed his own wound the gash on his left knee Finished, he straightened and glanced in the direction that Saphira had gone His connection with her was fading as she chased the Lethrblaka toward Leona Lake He yearned to help her but knew that, for the time being, she would have to fend for herself Hurry, said Roran Theyre getting away Right Hefting his staff, Eragon approached the unlit tunnel and icked his gaze from one stone protrusion to another, expecting the Razac to spring out from behind one of them He moved slowly in order that his footsteps would not echo in the winding shaft When he hap pened to touch a rock to steady himself, he found it coated in slime After a score of yards, several folds and twists in the passageway hid the main cavern and plunged them into a gloom so profound, even Eragon found it impossible to see Maybe youre different, but I cant ght in the dark, whispered Roran If I make a light, the Razac wont come near us, not when I now know a spell that works on them Theyll just hide until we leave We have to kill them while we have the chance What am I supposed to do Im likely to run into a wall andbreak my nose than I am to nd those two beetles.They couldsneak around behind us and stab us in the back Shh.Hold on to my belt, follow me, and be ready to duck Eragon could not see, but he could still hear, smell, touch, and taste, and those faculties were sensitive enough that he had a fair idea of what lay nearby The greatest danger was that the Razac would attack from a distance, perhaps with a bow, but he trusted that his reexes were sharp enough to save Roran and himself from an oncoming missile A current of air tickled Eragons skin, then paused and reversed itself as pressure from the outside waxed and waned The cycle repeated itself at inconsistent intervals, creating invisible eddies that brushed against him like fountains of roiling water His breathing, and Rorans, was loud and ragged compared withthe odd assortment of sounds that propagated through the tunnel Above the gusts of their respiration, Eragon caught the tink, clink, clatterof a stone falling somewhere in the tangle of branching tubes and the steady doink doink doinkof condensed droplets striking the drumlike surface of a subterranean pool He also heard the grind of pea sized gravel crushed underneath the soles of his boots A long, eerie moan wavered somewhere far ahead of them Of smells, none were new sweat, blood, damp, and mold Step by step, Eragon led the way as they burrowed farther into the bowels of Helgrind The tunnel slanted downward and often split or turned, so that Eragon would have soon been lost if he had not been able to use Katrinas mind as a reference point The various knobby holes were low and cramped Once, when Eragon bumped his head against the ceiling, a sudden are of claustrophobia unnerved him Im back,Saphira announced just as Eragon put his foot on arugged step hewn out of the rock below him He paused She had escaped additional injury, which relieved him And the Lethrblaka Floating belly up in Leona Lake Im afraid that some shermen saw our battle They were rowing toward Dras Leona when I last saw them.Well, it cant be helped See what you can nd in the tunnel the Lethrblaka came out of And keep an eye out for the Razac They may try to slip past us and escape Helgrind through the entrance we used.They probably have a bolt hole at ground level.Probably, but I dont think theyll run quite yet. After what seemed like an hour trapped in the darknessthough Eragon knew it could not have been than ten or fteen minutesand after descending than a hundred feet through Helgrind, Eragon stopped on a level patch of stone Transmitting his thoughts to Roran, he said, Katrinas cell is about fty feet in front of us, on the rightWe cant risk letting her out until the Razac are dead or gone.What if they wont reveal themselves until we do let her out For some reason, I cant sense them They could hide from me until doomsday in here So do we wait for who knows how long, or do we free Katrina while we still have the chance I can place some wards around her that shouldprotect her from most attacks. Roran was quiet for a second Lets free her, then They began to move forward again, feeling their way along the squat corridor with its rough, unnished oor Eragon had to devote most of his attention to his footing in order to maintain his balance As a result, he almost missed the swish of cloth sliding over cloth and then the faint twangthat emanated from off to his right He recoiled against the wall, shoving Roran back At the same time, something augered past his face, carving a groove of esh from his right cheek The thin trench burned as if cauterized Kveykva shouted Eragon Red light, bright as the midday sun, ared into existence It had no source, and thus it illuminated every surface evenly and without shadows, giving things a curious at appearance The sudden blaze dazzled Eragon, but it did than that to the lone Razac in front of him the creature dropped its bow, covered its hooded face, and screamed high and shrill A similar screech told Eragon that the second Razac was behind them Roran Eragon pivoted just in time to see Roran charge the other Razac, hammer held high The disoriented monster stumbled backward but was too slow The hammer fell For my father shouted Roran He struck again For our home The Razac was already dead, but Roran lifted the hammer once For Carvahall His nal blow shattered the Razacs carapace like the rind of a dry gourd In the merciless ruby glare, the spreading pool of blood appeared purple Spinning his staff in a circle to knock aside the arrow or sword that he was convinced was driving toward him, Eragon turned to confront the remaining Razac The tunnel before them was empty He swore Eragon strode over to the twisted gure on the oor He swungthe staff over his head and brought it down across the chest of thedead Razac with a resounding thud Ive waited a long time to do that, said Eragon As have I He and Roran looked at each other Ahh cried Eragon, and clutched his cheek as the pain intensied Its bubbling exclaimed Roran Do something The Razac must have coated the arrowhead with Seithr oil,thoughtEragon Remembering his training, he cleansed the wound and surrounding tissue with an incantation and then repaired the damage to his face He opened and closed his mouth several times to make sure the muscles were working properly With a grim smile, he said, Imagine the state wed be in without magic Without magic, we wouldnt have Galbatorix to worry about Talk later,said Saphira As soon as those shermen reach Dras Leona, the king may hear of our doings from one of his pet spellcasters in the city, and we do not want Galbatorix scrying Helgrind while we are still hereYes, yes,said Eragon Extinguishing the omnipresent red glow, he said, Brisingr raudhr, and created a red werelight like that from the previous night, except that this one remained anchored six inches from the ceiling instead of accompanying Eragon wherever he went Now that he had an opportunity to examine the tunnel in some detail, Eragon saw that the stone hallway was dotted with twenty or so ironbound doors, some on either side He pointed and said, Ninth down, on the right You go get her Ill check the other cells The Razac might have left something interesting in them Roran nodded Crouching, he searched the corpse at their feet but found no keys He shrugged Ill do it the hard way, then He sprinted to the proper door, abandoned his shield, and set to work on the hinges with his hammer Each blow created a frightful crash Eragon did not offer to help His cousin would not want or appreciate assistance now, and besides, there was something else Eragon had to do He went to the rst cell, whispered three words, then, after the lock snapped open, pushed aside the door All that the small room contained was a black chain and a pile of rotting bones Those sad remains were no than he had expected he already knew where the object of his search lay, but he maintained the charade of ignorance to avoid kindling Rorans suspicion Two doors opened and closed beneath the touch of Eragons ngers Then, at the fourth cell, the door swung back to admit the shifting radiance of the werelight and reveal the very man Eragon had hoped he would not nd Sloan From the Trade Paperback edition. Brisingr Wikipedia Brisingr is the third novel in Inheritance Cycle by Christopher PaoliniIt was released on September , Originally, Paolini intended to conclude then Trilogy three books, but during writing book he decided that series too complex one book, because single would be close pages long The Book and millions of other books are available for instant accessew Kindle eBook view Audible audiobook ImpishIdea Review View spoiler free version Brisingr, or, Seven Promises Eragon Shadeslayer Saphira Bjartskular I like note at his point, not so will allowed no exceptions from Age CardNor receive any War Veterans Card, since a war veteran Inheritance Sample Click below listen an additional audio excerpt ASSAULT ON HELGRIND Daybreak fteen minutes away when rolled up right He snapped ngers twice wake Roran scooped blankets knotted them into tight bundle Eragon, Eldest, cycle Eragon, Paolini, fantasy about dragons, ancient races, elves dwarves, land Alagaesia Eldest Eldest second sequel first published hardcover August paperback has been format, as ebook Like became New York Times bestseller A deluxe edition Christopher Release Date Net worth christopher paolini release date Worth Million born California estimated net worth million dollars An author, graduated high school age wrote shortly ther Psychopathia sexualis All things considered, human body pretty tough little piece biological machinery It s made organs, protected supported strong skeletal structure four times stronger than concrete boasts tendons muscles capable exerting dynamic strength upon objects it interacts with, ability heal regenerate most kinds damage over timeInheritance Author Southern lived life Paradise Valley, Montana with parents younger sister, Angela thoroughly enjoyed Chris Originally trilogy, their bestselling success spawned fourth which very welcome addition Leben wurde am November Sdkalifornien geboren, wuchs aber Valley mit seinen Eltern und seiner jngeren Schwester auf Er besuchte nie eine ffentliche Schule, sondern von unterrichtet Eragon PaoliniPaolini, while still teens After draft year, spent year rewriting fleshing out story characters Biography life, family, children In born, mother, Talita, quit her job Montessori preschool teacher devote time raising new son system learning developed Italian educator Maria some its features include focus Wikipdia uvres principales L Hritage modifier n le novembre Los Angeles en Californie est un crivain amricain de Cycle, Paolini ,, ratings reviews JElle said cannot adequately express my complete utter loathing this working Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia ur listopada w stanie ameryka ski pisarz pochodzenia oskiego, autor cyklu Dziedzictwo yciorys Uczy si domu i szko redni uko czy wieku lat dzi ki kursom korespondencyjnym To wtedy zacz pracowa nad powie ci dwiema nast pnymi W gu pierwszego roku powsta zarys ksi Der Autor Wie der Held seines gleichnamigen Fantasy Epos, gerade mal fnfzehn Jahre alt, als fr beide Romanfigur schier unglaubliche Erfolgsstory begann Beide sind inzwischen lter, reifer, erfahrener weltberhmt Drachenreiter kmpft Band Saga, Das Erbe Macht einen letzten, erbitterten Kampf Darkness falls despair abounds evil reigns Paolini Homepage tracked us December, Over ranked world, traffic comes USA, where reached position Librairie Molire Charleroi La librairie belge Librairie Molire, la ligne Achetez vos livres Plus stock Livraison rapide Des conseils libraires, des thmatiques, offres promotionnelles Littrature, BD Manga, Jeunesse, Loisirs, tourisme, Sant, Langues Scolaires, Arts, Sciences Savoirs Inheritance Please enable JavaScript page content Twitter Verified account part artist, metalworker, woodworker, full asker questions christopherpaolini Instagram k Followers, Following, Posts See photos videos Eragon Series Order Jack Reacher back Personally thought nd best yet latest series, Past Tense, came thFamily secrets come haunt decides visit town father Biography, Books Facts well known American authors th November, His work termed comprises publications Inheritance, BrisingrHe produced manuscript Montana, initially used live dating, tattoos, smoking On nickname Angeles, dollar fortune Book Five Alagasia long, wonderful journey following adventures Saphira, many people have wondered whether ever return world Books Goodreads popular IMDb Writer County, California, USA James writer, Continuar List author MontanaHomeschooled parents, fifteen also family self Books Brisingr: Book Three